


And It All Went to Hell

by bookthief22



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Adoption, Dysfunctional Family, Gen, Helicarrier (Marvel), Hurt/Comfort, International incidents, KGB, SHIELD, Stark Tower, badassery, embassy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:22:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25641274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookthief22/pseuds/bookthief22
Summary: AUNyx has been adopted by Steve and Bucky but when the Avengers come after them, an escape to the nearest embassy is the best bet for the young agent.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Kudos: 3





	1. The Plan

**Author's Note:**

> This work is years old. The newest chapters (beginning at around chapter 5 or 6) will be more recent writing added onto an old work. May potentially be rewritten in the future.

Steve, Bucky, and I were flying over Greece in the plane we ‘borrowed’ from the rest of the Avengers. Steve was drawing, Bucky was going between checking the auto-pilot and watching me read. I was curled up on the corner couch/chair thing reading The Hobbit. Suddenly, something docked onto the roof of our plane.

Steve, Bucky, and I all got into defensive positions, waiting in anticipation for what or rather who would come down the stairs. When Tony Stark stepped down with Thor, Bucky quickly pushed me behind him, blocking me from being viewed fully by the intruders. 

Tony stepped forward, “I’m sorry but we have to bring you all in. Fury’s orders.” Almost simultaneously, our eyes took on a hard glint. 

“And why, pray tell, would you choose this as a great time to finally start following orders from S.H.I.E.L.D. Stark?” Steve questioned. 

“Since he started giving me a sold reason to.” Was the reply. Steve and Bucky glanced at each other and that was all it took for one of the escape plans to be put into action. Steve threw his shield at the pair and shouted “4-3-3”.

Bucky bolted to the door hatch and opened it. Steve and I fought Thor and Stark until we felt the plane jolt down, causing Thor and Stark to lose balance. Steve and I bolted to the open door. Bucky was standing by typing into the computer mainframe, changing the flight path of the plane. 

Suddenly, the plane tilted as Thor swung his hammer into the side of the plane. Steve slid out of the plane, gripping the edge. Then Bucky jumped and grabbed onto his foot. I dodged Stark’s repulsor blast, or rather Iron Man’s as he had put on the suit. I did a backflip off the side of the plane which was now only a few yards off the ground. I gripped Bucky’s hand only to have to let go to avoid Thor’s hammer. I crashed into the ground hard, summer salting and then stumbling as I attempted to stand. The last thing I heard was Bucky yell “run!” before they were too far for me to see. I took off in a dead sprint away from the plane, dodging government officials as I had landed in the middle of the open courtyard. I needed to get to either Germany or Russia’s embassy. I needed somewhere safe to wait for my dads. My steps faltered when I heard a loud BOOM and its subsequent explosion. 

Plan 4-3-3 was about to go int action. I just hope my family will still be alive and together at the end of this.


	2. The Embassy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The welcoming of Nix at the embassy in Athens

I slept the night in an abandoned bouse on the outskirts of Athens. The night was cold and restless as I was anticipating an attack. The moment there was even a hint of sun on the horizon, I started my trek to find an embassy where I would be safe. 

My citizenships were with Germany, Russia, and Lithuania. However, I wouldn’t be safe in Lithuania meaning I would need to find the German or Russian embassy. Lucky me when Russia’s was near. 

I could hear the tell-tale sound of repulsors charging up and without glancing back, started a mad dash towards the Russian Embassy. After zigzagging my way through the trees, I vaulted the fence of the Russian Embassy. 

Upon touching the ground on the other side, I was immediately surrounded by guards. 

I dropped to my knees and put my hands behind my head. Speaking in fluent Russian, I said. “Nikta Zmeya, FSB. I am seeking asylum.” 

I was pressed against the ground and handcuffed just as Iron Man landed on the Russian side of the fence. I smirked as he pointed his palm repulsor at me. “Phoenix Levin, you are under arrest for resisting arrest by S.H.I.E.L.D.” 

I stifled a laugh at Tony’s statement. All of the guards surrounding me pointed their guns at Tony. I spoke up behind the guards when he didn’t respond to the rapid Russian they were speaking. 

“Neither you nor S.H.I.E.L.D. has jurisdiction here. Therefore, you need to leave before they start shooting at you.” Tony seemed to have a moment’s hesitation before flying away. The guards relaxed minutely and I was escorted by four guards into the embassy.   
The head of the embassy was in his office when I was led in. He took one long look at me before recognition flashed in his eyes and he ordered the guards to let me go. 

Rubbing my wrists slightly to get the circulation flowing through again, I nodded to The Head and sat down in the chair across from his desk. The Head dismissed the guards before grabbing a small scanner out from the bottom drawer of his desk. 

“Basilisk, I apologize for having to do this but we have to verify. For security reasons.” 

I nodded and took the scanner from him. It verified my fingerprints one by one before a small prick popped out the top. I pricked my thumb on the tip and it sunk back into the machine. Less than a minute later the result came back positive and the beep sounded. I handed the device back to the head. He glanced at it once before returning the verification device back in the bottom drawer. He resettled himself back in his chair before looking me in the eye. 

“Agent Basilisk, welcome to the embassy in Athens. My name is Mateo Khodorov. As you may have guessed, I’m The Head of this embassy. Not that I disapprove of you being here but why are you here?”

“Thanks for being so accepting of my presence here.”

Mateo ignored the blatant sarcasm and interrupted, “Why wouldn’t I welcome in one of our nation’s most renowned FSB agents?” 

“Still, I thank you for this. I was on break with my adoptive parents when S.H.I.E.L.D. interrupted us and tried to bring the three of us in. I’m seeking asylum from Russia to stay away from S.H.I.E.L.D. At least for the moment.” I stared him straight in the eye instead of over his shoulder. “I don’t want S.H.I.E.L.D scrutinizing my backstory too much. Plus, I need to find out how much Russia wants them to know. Will Russia help me?”

Mateo sat back in his chair and rubbed his hand across his face. “Why wouldn’t Russia help you Basilisk? You have served our country in many ways. Anything we can do to keep you will be done.” 

I let a small, slightly hysterical laugh out from my lips and leaned back in my chair. A completely random thought popped in my head. 

“Do you even know my real name? Not just the aliases I go by.” 

Mateo raised and furrowed his brow. 

“It’s just that everyone calls me either Agent Basilisk or Nyx Zmeya. I am not sure who is privy to the information.” 

Mateo looked me over carefully before standing and walking over to the filing cabinet. He unlocked the middle drawer and pulled out a slim black file. Mateo sat back down and opened it. 

“Most of the information in your file has been redacted. However, it does give me your full name. Nikta Zmeya Schlüter Levina. You were born in 2002 in Russia. You have Russian, German, Lithuanian, and American ancestry and citizenship. However, I’m not exactly sure how you managed that with the Americans.” 

He glanced up at me and I smirked. 

“You’ve been adopted twice now and your fist op was called Wayco. The rest is redacted.” Mateo closed the file and placed it off to the side. 

“I’ll coordinate with the Director of the FSB. However, you do know that there is nothing I can do for your parents? They’re both Americans and can’t be under our protection.”

“I understand sir. I thank you and Russia for all of this. You didn’t have to be this welcoming.”

Mateo stood and I followed suit. He led the way out of the office and to the guard’s barracks. 

“I apologize for the accommodations but the barracks will have to do because of the short notice.” 

I tilted my head in agreement. Mateo knocked on the door, opened it, and walked in. I trailed two steps behind him. All of the soldiers stood at attention. Mateo saluted them and they relaxed.

“Soldiers, this is Agent Basilisk. She will be staying here for the time being. I expect you to treat her with the utmost respect and to not disturb her training.” 

He turned to me, “If you have any problems, please come to me directly with them.” 

At my incredulous look, he corrected himself, “Or you may deal with them yourself. So be it. Have a nice night and I’ll see you tomorrow with more information from Serebrovsky.” Mateo nodded at me once more before sweeping out of the room.

I turned to look at the rest of the room. Each soldier was looking me up and down, evaluating me. They were no doubt picking up on my disheveled and dirty appearance. I just waited for them to finish. Soon, one of the soldiers stepped forward with a questioning and tentative gaze. 

“Mateo called you Agent Basilisk and Serebrovsky is the Director of FSB. Are you FSB?” She asked.

I smiled, “What’s your name?”

“Ana Knecht. Was that a yes?” 

“That’s a German last name isn’t it?” 

Amanda nodded tentatively. “Cool, I’m German as well. Only part.” 

I turned to the rest of the room. “Is there a bed I could sleep in? It’s been about,” I looked down at the matte silver watch that miraculously hadn’t broken yet, “Thirty hours since I slept last.”

One of the other soldiers pointed to the top bunk of a bed two to the left. I nodded my thanks before climbing up there and turning my back to the soldiers.

Most of the soldiers realized they weren’t going to get anything out of me and started doing their own thing. 

I took off my battered, dirty shirt to be more comfortable for my nap, and heard a few gasps and the room got a little quieter. I ignored them and pretended it didn’t bother me that my scars caused that reaction. 

Everybody had done that when they saw my scars. The only exception so far had been Bucky and Steve. When they first got a look at them, they didn’t pity or question me, nor did they ignore the fact they existed. Instead, they gave me a big hug and asked me to tell them when I was ready. 

When the whispering and noise level started to rise, I wrapped myself in a blanket and dozed off.


	3. Serebrovsky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter Serebrovsky and his plans, plus some training

Two hours later, I awoke to my twelve o’clock watch alarm. I turned it off and sat up, tensing at the unfamiliar sight until I recalled this morning’s events. 

I looked around, finally getting my first good look at the barracks. They were split in half, guys on one side and gals on the other. I could see a curtain against the wall that presumably gave a sense of privacy at night for most of the soldiers. The walls were painted grey and the beds had black frames with grey blankets, sheets, and pillows. The bathrooms were on the left and right respectively. 

Looking closer, I noticed about ten to fifteen beds occupied and the rest were out of the room, presumably at lunch. The ones sleeping were likely the night shift guards. 

I stepped down from my bunk and searched around the cabinets in the bathroom for a shirt. I found a white shirt and black cargo pants. I quickly stripped off my clothes and took a rinse in the shower before putting on the new clothes. I threw my brown, shoulder-length hair up into a quick ponytail and started my trek through the embassy. 

The cool thing about the Russian embassies is that they all generally have the same layout. This made it simple for travelling agents like myself to find our way around the different locations easily. 

I made my way to the kitchen. When I walked in, the soldiers on break were going through the line for food and settling themselves in places at the common table. I stepped into line behind the last person who was a good six or seven inches taller than my five food three and a half frame. 

I grabbed a banana and a premade turkey, swiss, and lettuce sandwich before leaning against a corner to watch how everyone interacted. 

The first thing I noticed as I ate was that almost all of the soldiers underestimated me. I found that to be one of my greatest assets. I’m only fifteen years old. When I reach around twenty-three or twenty-five, my body will stop growing at the normal pace as I was given the same serum all the red-room recruits were given. 

When I finished my small lunch of the sandwich and an apple, I quietly slipped out of the room to look at their training or practice room. It was located next to the barracks. 

I entered through the double doors to find a high-class training area complete with punching bags, a weapon range, a sparring area, a small track, weights, machines, and more. I grinned at the sight. So many possibilities. Nobody was in the room so I took off my shirt, leaving only a sports bra. I went to put it in one of the small lockers on the side only to find a change of workout clothes inside. 

I changed my cargo pants into the black shorts that were available. I placed my previous clothes inside the locker and started stretching. When that was done, I went for a mile jog around the track. When my run was finished in six minutes, I noticed two soldiers had trickled into the room and were starting on the exercise bikes. 

I moved next to the weapons range. There was an assortment of knives and guns available for use. I grabbed five knives and a Glock and headed for the targets. Deciding to forgo earplugs, I stated with the Glock. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! I fired four successive rounds at the heart. Bang! Bang! Two more at the head, dead center of the forehead. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Four more at the chest. Then I took the five knives, weighed them in my hands for a second before throwing them at the target. Left shoulder, right shoulder, head, between the legs, and a chest shot, right over where the heart would be. 

I clicked the button to reel in the target and checked my work. Every knife was just slightly above or between an appendage except the chest one. Each bullet had hit the target dead on except for two that were a few centimeters off. 

“Damn!” I cursed. I repeated the exercise until I did it perfect four times over. 

I removed the knives from the target and put them back on the rack. I cleaned and reloaded the Glock before replacing it as well. Next, I took the targets down and placed all of them in the large, rectangular bin. 

I stretched my arms above my head as I walked over to the sparring mats. Off to the side were a few blunt weapons. I took the bostaff off the wall. Ignoring the few spectators I had that were attempting to be discrete, I slowly began my routine. 

Spin, block, sweep, stab, block, flip, sweep, roll, my moves slowly got faster and faster until I was a blur on the mats. Sweat was starting to drip down my neck and back. 

**CLAP!**

I stopped mid-swing and threw the knife sheathed to my waist at the source of the sound. All sound in the room stopped except for my labored breathing. I looked around, noting all the shocked expressions of the spectators I hadn’t heard come in. 

My gaze stopped on the knife that was embedded in the wall right next to Mateo’s left shoulder. To hazard a guess, I’d say he’d intentionally clapped his hands and moved out of the way because he knows not to interrupt ‘special’ agents training. 

I walked over and took the knife out of the wall. 

“What’d you need sir?”

“I want to know what you did to piss off S.H.I.E.L.D. so bad that they sent representatives to both Moscow and this embassy to negotiate your release into their custody and relinquish your Russian citizenship. They are being a little tight-lipped about it.”

I scoffed. “No, they just don’t want to admit a few of their agents were beaten by a fifteen-year-old girl.” 

At Mateo’s slight upturn of the lips, I continued “Their egos were bruised. They wanted to question me which involves international secrets. Therefore, when they tried to use force, their egos weren’t the only things a little bruised.”

Matteo nodded. “I can accept that. Oh, and Serebrovsky will be here to personally escort you back to Russia.” ‘

I nodded in acceptance, keeping a straight face. Why the hell would Serebrovsky personally come to Athens to take me back to Russia? 

“Is that all sir?”

“Yes. I’ll see you tomorrow Basilisk.” Mateo turned on his heel and left. I turned back to the room to see around two dozen people staring at me. I groaned at the fact questions would be asked. I sat down on the empty bench after sheathing the knife I’d been spinning in my hand to drink some water. 

The soldier who first talked to me, Ana Knecht, stepped forward but I interrupted her before she even started to speak. 

“I’m Agent Basilisk. Yes, Serebrovsky is my superior. Yes, I really am only fifteen.” Amanda stepped back seeming put out. 

An arrogant guy called out as I was looking over my knife for any blemishes. “What about those scars? Got anything to say about them?”

My eyes automatically hardened. “That was unnecessary,” I spat, pointing the knife at him.

I looked around. You could see them full of questions but afraid to ask and I wasn’t going to push them.

“I’m going to get back to training, unless there are any objections?” 

When I again was met with silence, I rolled my eyes and made my way through the crowd to the punching bag. I wrapped my hands, and then started to go at it. I’m not sure how long I kept at this but I do know I ditched my shoes and by the time I stopped, I had no spectators.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I awoke at five a.m. to find other soldiers just starting to wake for either the day. I stretched, put on that white shirt I found and stepped down the ladder to go take a shower. 

Twenty minutes later, I was pulling up my hair while walking up the back stairs. I reached the very top and opened the door leading to the roof. No one was up here this early. 

I’m not sure how long I sat on the edge of the roof with my feet dangling off the edge. The sun had risen though and my legs had long ago numbed. A presence sat down next to me and caught me off guard when he started speaking fluent German. However, I recognized the voice as soon as I heard it. 

“I’m doing fine Brov. The real question however is why you came all the way to Athens.”

I turned to look at the man who taught me three different languages and a multitude of other skills. 

“Nothing gets by you does it Zmeya?” 

He sighed, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. “S.H.I.E.L.D. wants to bring you in and I’m not completely averse to the idea.”

I shot my piercing, hazel-eyed stare at him. “Explain now because I just spent the past few days running away from them to prevent an international incident. You know how Germany will react to Russia willingly giving me up after seeking sanctuary.”

Once again, Serebrovsky sighed tiredly. “It’s just, you know of Romanoff?”

“Yeah. World-class agent graduated from the red room and basically became a superhero. Why?” I questioned. 

“Romanoff was Russian but turned to S.H.I.E.L.D. to get out of trouble stateside. Needless to say, we want someone inside S.H.I.E.L.D. we can trust. Someone who could quietly rise to the top with inside connections. Someone whom S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn’t know about and who could get under S.H.I.E.L.D.’s defenses by lying about almost every little thing about them.”

I looked at him head-on and asked, “And exactly how do Germany and Lithuania feel about this exactly?” 

Serebrovsky shifted under the scrutiny of my gaze.

“Germany already agreed as long as you stop by and see Folks before you start your infiltration and you know Lithuania. They’re pretty chill as long as you help them out when they need it.” I nodded in agreement, then paused.

“So, wait, are you taking me back to Russia, Germany, or the Germany embassy?” Serebrovsky seemed to think it over for a second.

“I’ll probably take you to the German Embassy and then we’ll switch cars and the Germans will put you on a plane to Germany to visit Folks. We can talk it over more there. For now though, why don’t we release some tension with a quick spar?” 

I grinned sinisterly. “Oh, don’t you dare think you’ll win. You know the saying. The student becomes the master.”

He returned the smirk. “Oh, yes, I remember telling you that the first time you beat me. However, it has been a while since I’ve had a good matchup and being away for so long must have broken down your skills a bit.”

“We shall see Brov.”

“Back at you Zmeya.”

“Meet on the mats in fifteen?”

“Of course.” 

With that, we departed the roof and down the stairs. At the bottom, we headed in different directions. I went back to the barracks to change clothes only to find my combat suit on my bed. 

“Thank you Brovsky.” I whispered. 

Quickly, I changed into the clothing. Black, relatively fitting cargo pants with many compartments and pockets, a black short-sleeve breathable shirt, and a black jacket with multiple pockets. My soundless shoes were there as well as the many different sheaths for my weapons. The weapons were in the box next to the shoes. 

The only small bit of color on any of it was the slim green stripe that ran down the front left side of my suit, signaling my identity among the other FSB agents. 

Once everything was in place, I stepped out of the barracks and headed to the training room. Inside were almost all of the soldiers and guards as well as most of the people who worked at the embassy. Inwardly I smirked. Serebrovsky wanted to prove that I wasn’t just some stuck up fifteen-year-old. 

I stopped just outside of the mats to stretch. Serebrovsky popped up next to me and followed suit. 

“You look a lot better in uniform than in the baggy clothes you were wearing. You actually seem almost capable enough to give me a challenge.” He murmured with a wolfish grin. 

“Oh? How about a wager?” Serebrovsky lifted an eyebrow.

“If I win, my parents get to know about my training, not just that bullshit story you all fed them. If you win, I’ll convince S.H.I.E.L.D. that I’m just another Red Room operative that escaped their dangerous hands; the wounded and depressed fifteen-year-old who never had a childhood. Deal?” Serebrovsky assessed me. 

“You’ll probably play my end of the deal anyway, yes?” 

All I did was smile wolfishly. “So, is that a deal sir?”

“Yes soldier. You have a deal. Shall we begin?”


	4. The Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Serebrovsky and Nix spar and Nix is sent to Germany

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so short. Not the best at writing action/fighting/sparring scenes

Before the words even finished leaving his mouth, he swept his foot across the ground. I jumped above it and did a snap kick. He dodged to the left Serebrovsky stepped onto the mats and the game had begun. 

Serebrovsky brought out his Bo staff and flicked it open while striking at me. I rolled out of the way as I brought out by own staff. 

We were a blur of movement as we exchanged hits and blocks. The moment the fight got real was when the knives were pulled out. I held my Bo staff in my right hand and a knife in my left. Serebrovsky mirrored my form. 

Instead of just thumps and cracks, clangs and clashes were heard as well. The fight probably went on another five or so minutes until I was able to disarm his knife and place mine just under his chin until the knife nicked his throat, drawing blood.

“Dead. I win. Not as rusty as you thought huh?” I removed the knife from his throat as I spoke. We shook hands before he addressed the room full of shocked and surprised spectators. 

“And that was your lesson in never underestimating your opponent. Dismissed.” Once the last person had shuffled out, I laughed.

“Was that really all you were using me for?”

“No, I just wanted to teach them a lesson once I saw a few of them sneering at my best agent.”  
He glanced over at the clock on the wall. “Now I do believe it is time to visit the Germans? I’m not sure how long they’ll be willing to wait before storming the place.”

I laughed again. “Too true.”

We walked out of the training room and outside to the awaiting vehicle. Everyone we passed shied away from us, whether it be my cold demeanor, whom I was walking with, or the fact I beat a full-grown renowned spy in combat. 

Before I stepped into the vehicle, I saw some people just outside the fence talking to the guards. They stopped as soon as they saw me however which made me believe they were S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Serebrovsky put his hand on my shoulder and I looked up at him.

“It’ll be alright. If they try anything, many people will be on their backs before you could snap.” 

I gave a slight smile before getting in the car. Serebrovsky slid in next to me and we were off. 

From the German embassy, I was flown in a helicopter to Berlin where we were met by Folks and a guard who was able to block off the pesky S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who kept appearing as cockroaches. 

Folks, Serebrovsky, and I talked over the details S.H.I.E.L.D. could and couldn’t know. We included my Lithuania handler, Pavlis, as well through a secure video conference. 

It took around four hours but eventually we worked it all out. 

Sadly, I couldn’t stay the night in Berlin with my handlers. So, I packed a bag full of my stuff and headed out into the countryside.


	5. The Avengers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nix is taken into the Helicarrier and meets some famous individuals. Someone is surprisingly helpful.

Chapter 5: The Avengers

S.H.I.E.L.D. caught up to me after I left the city limits. 

While walking along the side of the interstate, I felt a hard breeze that made me brace myself in order to stay standing. The quinjet removed cloaking and I was tackled to the ground, right wrist groaning at the impact. 

I bit my lip as my arms were roughly pulled behind my back and thick handcuffs were placed around my wrists. They pulled me up and I started speaking in rapid German. 

“I’m sorry! I don’t know what I did wrong! Are Bucky and Steve alright? Where are you taking me? Can you help me?” 

The leader of the group snapped around and snarled, “None of us speak German kid.”

I paused and then asked with a thick German accent. “Vho are you? Vhere are ve going?” The leader raised his brow before composing himself. 

“We’re S.H.I.E.L.D. kid and we’ve been ordered to bring you in.” 

I kept my brow furrowed but didn’t resist as they started to push me forward. “Vhat about my mutter? Vil she be good? Vill you tell her vhere I am?” 

They pushed me down onto a seat. “Just shut it! Be quiet for the ride.” The leader replied. 

I did as told and stayed silent twiddling my thumbs behind my back. They’d taken my backpack upon my arrest but hadn’t frisked me for weapons meaning they weren’t fully briefed on the situation.

The ride to the helicarrier took about an hour and a half I sat in silence, doing a self-check and noting my wrist seemed wrong after the encounter.

We landed on the helicarrier’s deck and I was taken to an interrogation room. Along the way, however, my presence was met with confused glances and whispering. 

We passed by a glass room filled with the Avengers, sans Bucky and Steve. Thor glared when he saw me and Tony seemed almost thoughtful. Barton and Romanoff were blank. Banner’s brow was furrowed. Loki smirked. One has to wonder what goes through the madman’s mind.

The interrogation room was super bland. There was nothing to stare at. It was three walls of light grey nothingness and a wall with what I assumed was a one-way mirror. 

Fury walked in with Romanoff around ten minutes later which seems like an unnecessarily long time after I was brought in but that may have been because I could feel my shoulders protesting at the position the handcuffs put me in. 

“Finally someone who knows what they’re doing and not acting on half-truth orders. How’s it going Fury? Romanova?” I relaxed back in my chair. Both of their eyes narrowed.

“How do you know our names?” Fury demanded. 

I ignored him and stared straight at Romanoff. I switched from English to Russian. 

“The Red Room sends their regards.” She noticeably stiffened, causing Fury to send a questioning eye at her. 

“No, they’re gone. I blew up their site.” She continued the conversation in Russian leaving Fury out of it. 

I scoffed. “Do you really think that was the only site they were doing experiments at? The only one they were training their special little soldiers?” I said with malice. 

“I got out. I had a contact in Germany who helped me out. I got adopted. I’m now an official American. I need S.H.I.E.L.D.’s help to keep them away.”

By now Fury was talking on his com, trying to get another Russian translator on the line. Romanoff glances at Fury the same time I did and switched to Greek.

“How do I know I can trust you?” She asked with her mask back up. 

“Gregorovich Krum injected both of us with a serum that stopped us from aging between the ages of twenty-three and twenty-five. You were born in Cap’s original time. Little known fact though, the serum makes you sterile and unable to have kids.” I met Romanoff’s gaze head-on. Unable to detect any lies, she nodded her head once before gesturing Fury out of the room. 

Once the door had closed firmly behind them, I got out of the chair and sat in the corner of the room, closing my eyes to take a short nap until they figured out what to do with me. 

I’m not sure how much later it was when the door open and Romanoff came in. She left the door open behind her. I stood in front of her at attention like I had been taught.

She came up behind me and unlocked the cuffs. She moved back in front of me and didn’t say anything about my ginger arm movements.

“It’s done. It all checked out and…I can’t deny some of the evidence.” 

I looked her in the eye and she stared right back. I nodded in acceptance. 

“What are my orders ma’am?” She looked slightly exasperated at my response but didn’t correct me. 

“You’re coming with me for general medical tests as you have been mostly off the grid for…” she trailed off. 

“Fifteen years ma’am.”

She nodded and then turned on her heel, beckoning me to follow her. 

“You know,” I said behind her in Russian, “no one ever frisked me for weapons.” I didn’t correct her on the mutterings about stupid incompetent fools working important ops.

“We’ll worry about that in a moment.”

When we reached the med bay, Romanoff grabbed a bin off the shelf and placed it between us. 

“You know what to do. I need all weapons on your person in the bin.”

In the end, five knives, a Glock, a Taser, and my collapsible Bo-Staff were in the bin. Romanoff raises her brows but says nothing as she places the bin back on the shelf before knocking on the closed door in front of us.

I turned to her and asked, “shouldn’t Bucky and Steve be here? I mean they adopted me a few days ago. They don’t even know who I really am.” I looked down as the doc came over. 

Before she took me away though, Romanoff leaned down to my ear. “I’ll see what I can do.” 

\------------------------------------------------------ 

When I was getting my right wrist wrapped for a severe sprang, my new found fathers rushed in the room. 

“What happened?”

“Are you okay?”

“Who do I need to blame for this?” Steve and Buck said at the same time Romanoff had been standing in the doorway, calmly following. 

I gave her a slight grin in thanks before she left the room. My fathers watched this interaction with interest. 

“How’d you wiggle yourself into the Widow’s soft spot?” Steve asked.

“I’ll tell you later. Are you guys alright? Last I heard the plane had been blown up.”

“We’re fine Nix. No injured limbs, unlike you it seems. What happened?” Bucky asked. 

I paused before answering, “Nothing important. It’s just a sprained wrist.” 

Their eyes narrowed.

“Only sprained my ass. That wrist is almost fractured. You need to keep it wrapped or in a brace when you’re noticing it.” The doctor cut in as she finished wrapping my wrist. 

“Thanks.” 

“It’s my job,” was all I got in response. 

I took that as my dismissal and got up from the bed where I’d been sitting. Steve and Bucky followed me. A quick glance at the shelves on the way out told me Romanoff had taken all of my weapons with her. I silently thanked her in my mind. I wasn’t ready to tell Bucky and Steve everything. Heck, I wasn’t ready to tell them my cover story.

“Where are we going?” I asked as we walked down another bland and boring grey hall. 

“To meet the Avengers. It’s time you were introduced properly.” 

Since they were walking ahead of me a bit, they didn’t notice me paling at Steve’s words. The Avengers except Steve and Bucky had seen me taken into custody. By now, Romanoff had undoubtedly explained what I had said to her and why she was helping me out so much. Steve and Bucky didn’t know any of it. They weren’t in the room for it and based on Romanoff’s slight surprise at hearing who my fathers were, none of the other Avengers had been told about me being adopted by their team members. This was a disaster in the making. 

The Avengers were still in the room with a glass wall, however, at the sight of me, Romanoff hit a button causing the glass wall to be covered by a screen. I’m pretty sure Romanoff knows me better than my fathers at this point. 

Thor snarled as I entered the room after Steve and Bucky, confusing them. It was Stark, however, who broke the silence that descended upon the room. 

“Nikta Zmeya Schlüter Levina. Born in March of 2002. Dad died of an aneurism when you were two. Mom and now adoptive father died in a shooting when you were five. Your two siblings died as well. You are off the record after that but as we’ve been informed, the Red Room had found themselves another operative. Just like our lovely Natasha over there, you are going to stop aging at a certain point. You were saved by a German from Russia and from there are now in the United States. So, did I miss anything?” 

As he said all of this, I’d slowly been backing away from my new fathers, as well as anyone else really. My back touched the wall and I stiffened, letting no emotion roll onto my face.

The shooting was in their records? My original name as well? How much did they really know? How were Steve and Bucky going to react? I was going to have to tell them the truth, but when?

So many thoughts were fluttering through my mind that I didn’t notice when a hand was put on my shoulder in an attempt to break me out of my reverie. And broken out I was as I acted on instinct and flipped the person to the ground and pulled the one knife I had left on me to hold at their throat.

I blinked a few times before looking down at who I had pinned. It was Bucky. Immediately, I dropped the knife and backed away. 

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t… I just reacted! I don’t know what I was thinking! That was so stupid.” Once again, I had backed myself up to the wall, tensed and ready to bolt at the first sign of danger. Bucky was still frozen on the floor and Steve was looking at the knife that had fallen.

Surprisingly, it was Tony who came up to me first. He didn’t touch me but crouched down so I had to look down to see him properly.

“Hey, I didn’t mean to cause that type of reaction from you. I just was reading off your history for all of us in hopes of getting something about what happened after you dropped off the grid, okay? No one is going to hurt you here or attack you and if Bucky and Steve won’t take you in, I sure will. I don’t care that you have mad skills. If anything, I think that they are awesome and that you’ll have to show me them sometime. Does that sound good to you Zmeya?”

“Yeah, I’m good. I just overreacted. I’m sorry.” 

I looked down, closing my eyes, and clenching my fists out of habit. A larger warm had taken my hand in theirs and pried the fingers out, releasing my palms from their torture as they started to bleed. The hands were especially careful of my wrapped right hand. 

“When’d you do this Zmeya?” Stark asked. 

I opened my eyes to look at him again. Stark was holding my right wrist, gently inspecting it. 

“When I was,” I glanced at Bucky and Steve who had recovered ad were listening intensely to Stark and I’s conversation, “When I was brought in. I um… fell on my wrist when the quinjet landed.” 

I laughed softly. The best lies had parts of the truth. Stark looked angry at this fact, Romanoff looked as though she just had an epiphany and Bucky and Steve were slightly confused. Bruce and Clint were watching the whole interaction like a ping pong match. Loki was angry but Thor seemed confused. 

“Well back at the tower I’d like to have our medic look over it again, alright?”

I nodded once. “Yes sir.”

“None of that sir business. Call me Tony, alright?”

“Sure,” I replied unenthusiastically. At least I knew where I was going to sleep that night. 

Tony clapped his hands together causing me to flinch back slightly, grimacing when my shoulder moved. More than one eye caught the grimace. 

“No matter how much fun I’ve had here on the helicarrier, I think we’d all be a lot more comfortable back at the tower, am I right?” Tony didn’t wait for a response before pushing Steve and Bucky out of the room with him. 

I headed towards Romanoff. “Do you have my weapons ma’am?” 

She looked down at me calculatingly. “You can have them back on the quinjet.”

“Thank you ma’am” 

Romanoff started towards the door but paused in the doorway. “You don’t have to call me ma’am you know. Natasha or Romanoff is fine,” she threw over her shoulder. 

I pondered that for a second. Romanoff was letting me in. She was at the beginnings of trust with me. My heart clenched for a second as I thought about how most of what I’d told them was a lie. It just didn’t sit quite right.


	6. Stark Tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter Stark Tower, medical pt. 2, and a place to stay.

I looked up to see Dr. Banner waiting for me at the door. I gave him a small smile when we made eye contact. 

“I can take you to the quinjet since we’ll be flying back together.” 

“That’d be great, thanks,” I replied, letting some of my natural accent slip into my words.

As we walked, Banner asked, “So is the accent real or are you just playing with me?”

“It’s real. I’ve never been able to fully get rid of it but I can mask it easily.”

“That’s really cool! What region is it?”

I smiled slightly and replied, “A weird mix between Russian and German. Lived in Germany for a while and then Russia so my accent is a mixture.” 

“Wow, that’s really cool.” 

I gave a half-smile and we walked the rest of the way in comfortable silence. 

Upon entering the quinjet, Banner sat on the right side next to Thor and I sat on the left next to Loki. Tony, Bucky, and Steve were nowhere in sight. Natasha came out of the cockpit where Clint was and handed me a box. Then she went back to do last-minute checks. 

I opened the box to find all of my weapons. Immediately, I started strapping them all into their holsters. 

Loki grabbed my collapsible Bo-Staff before I could get to it as it was the last one in the box. He carefully looked it over before snapping it fully into position. 

“A very formidable weapon for such a young child. Why do you need it child? Why didn’t you use it to beat off your attackers?” He didn’t look at me once the whole time. He just continued inspecting the staff. 

I didn’t answer him. I just held out my hand. Loki handed it back to me still fully extended. I clicked the hidden button towards the top of the black and silver beauty to collapse it and placed it in the specially designed pocket.

Once everything was in place, I sat back down next to Loki. 

“They shouldn’t have done that to you,” he whispered. 

I looked to him questioningly. His piercing green eyes met my ever-changing hazel ones. 

“Barnes and Rogers. They should know better than to fear what you can do. If I can tell anything, it’s that you didn’t want to be this way but were forced into it. Also,” he leaned down to whisper in my ear, “you’re good at lying but not enough to trick the God of Mischief and Lies.”

I kept my exterior calm and nodded, replying, “yes sir.” But on the inside, I wondered which lies he’d picked up on. 

“Why’d you lie to Barnes and Rogers? They would get revenge on those guys,” Loki said leaning back. Picking up on my confusion, he inclined his head, “Your wrist.”

“They don’t know about my past.”. 

Loki nodded in acceptance. Less than thirty seconds later, Tony sauntered onto the quinjet with a smirk. Bucky and Steve were looking upset and dejected. I wondered what Tony had talked to them about. 

“Hey Nix/Zmeya.” They said as they sat down. 

The bay door closed and the quinjet took off. Soon, we arrived at Avenger’s tower. 

We all trailed off the quinjet, Bucky and Steve giving me a bear hug as we got off.

“We’re sorry if you thought we wouldn’t want you after you were startled. It was wrong of us to react the way we did when we should have been making sure you were alright. Can you forgive us?”

I looked at them both for a second before saying, “I never really held it against you.”

They smiled widely before dragging me into the tower and onto the couch. I was beginning to feel overwhelmed with all of the attention I was receiving but I know I was going to have to bear it until everyone got used to me being around. 

“Let’s start at the beginning. How’d you end up in the red room?” asked Tony.

I gulped a little before glancing over at my fathers. They weren’t surprised at the insinuation. They seemed almost encouraging. I took a deep breath before plunging into my cover story that I had been able to weave parts of the truth into.

“After I’d been born, my birth parents weren’t getting along super well. They had started on divorce papers but they never got finished since my father died of an aneurism when I was two. Soon after, my mom remarried giving me a stepbrother. 

“A year later my mom got pregnant with my little half-brother. Anton adopted me to officially make me a part of the family. Soon, my little brother, Lukas was born and everything was good. When I turned five and Lukas was little over a year old, a shooter entered our home and killed my parents and brothers in front of me. 

“I later found out the assassin was a red room operative codenamed StarForce. I was taken from my home in Germany that night to the base of operations a few hours outside of Moscow. There, they trained me to be their ‘best agent’. 

“By ten I was being sent on missions with a supervising agent. By eleven I was going on solo missions throughout Europe. At twelve, those missions expanded to the whole world. During one of the missions when I was thirteen or so, I met a guy by the name of Kater Broheim. He captured me during one of my missions and questioned me. But instead of being mad at me for trying to kill his family, he accepted that I was an assassin; but I was also very young and influenceable. He sat me down for dinner with his family and asked a bunch of questions. 

“I later found out that Kater Broheim wasn’t his true name but what he went by most of the time. He offered to get me out. He gave me his business card and said if I ever wanted to get away, then I needed to call him. 

“When I called him a few weeks ago, he helped me get adopted. Then, when I showed up at the Russian embassy, Kater got me transferred to Germany where I’d be safer. And here I am.” I finished.

“You glossed over how Kater did it, getting you out of the red room facilities,” Romanoff said. 

I took a deep breath before tensing my shoulders. “Kater is the head of an agency in Germany. He led a team on an infiltration mission to get me out.”

I cleared my throat, “I’d just come back from a mission vhen Kater’s team attacked. I’d been in the armory vhich vas near zie front of zie facility. I heard the commotion down the hall and fought off my ‘mentors’ and got out into zie hall to zee them. Kater grabbed me before making the ezcape. 

“Soon after, some bombs went off in the facility and I didn’t hear of any survivors. I stayed with the Broheim’s for a few days while Kater worked to get me into the adoption database. Once I waz in zhere, I had to say my goodbyes to zie Broheims and stay at zie azzigned group home. Vhen Buck and Steve picked me out vell, you guys know the rest.” 

My accent had slipped in partially through that conversation, causing my words to be hasher and some of the sounds to be different. My accent slip seemed to confirm my story and Romanoff looked a bit surprised at the slip.

I looked down a bit self-consciously and cleared my throat, making sure to go back to the North American I was supposed to be.

“Was that all you wanted to know?” I asked.

Tony whistled low, “Nice accent Zmeya. Didn’t expect that one from you.”

I blushed. 

Steve piped in, “You don’t have to hide it if your accent is easier to talk in. We don’t want you to have to hide from us. We want you to be who you are.” 

I looked to Romanoff, my gaze questioning as to if she still had an accent. She gave a slight but discrete head tilt. I internally wanted to hear how American she’d become since she hadn’t apparently lost the connection to her roots yet. 

I yawned, signaling how tired I was.

“Oh no, you can’t go to bed yet. We still need to get a brace for your wrist and double-check it.” Tony said, giving me a pointed look. 

“Our daughter can sleep if that’s what she needs right now Tony. You don’t get to have any say in that.” Steve fired back. 

I smiled a little bit. “It’s fine Steve. I can go get checked out again.”

Steve was about to speak again but Tony beat him to the punch. 

“Why don’t you and Barnes go get a room ready for Zmeya while Romanoff and I take her. She can have the room next to yours that used to be Barnes’s. Good? Alright, let’s go pipsqueak.” 

I gave a light glare in response to the nickname but didn’t object it since I’d heard almost every short joke out there.

I looked to Romanoff for direction and she nodded her head towards the elevator before starting to walk over there. I stood gracefully and entered the elevator after Romanoff. Once the doors had closed, I looked to Romanoff pointedly but she shook her head signaling that now was not the time. 

I fixed my face back into the blank mask and stood at the ready. Tony turned a questioning gaze towards Romanoff who began to whisper in his ear. I ignored them and was the last to step out of the elevator once we reached the designated floor. 

“What do I need to do ma’am?” I asked Romanoff. She gazed at me intensely for a moment.

At this point, Tony probably thought I was bi-polar or something. 

“Listen to Stark. He’ll give the instructions on this one.” I inclined my head before turning to look at Stark. He stared back.

“Is there any other injury you obtained during your arrest that you’ve been hiding from us?”

“No sir.” I replied. 

He sighed. “I told you not to call me sir kid.”

“Those giving the orders are to be treated with the utmost respect sir.” I replied. 

Romanoff leaned over to say something in Stark’s ear. He seemed to have an epiphany before asking her, “You too?” 

She gave a short nod before looking towards me. 

“Oh yes. Hmmm. Why don’t we ask Jarvis to run another scan and then you can tell us who did this to you?” 

I followed Tony to a glass table where he had me lay down flat.

Natalia and Tony stepped back a few paces as my arm, from fingertips to shoulder, was scanned, then the rest of my body. Soon, it turned off and a holographic projection came up in front of Tony. 

“What’s this telling me, Jarvis? Bruce didn’t come down here with us.”

“In S.H.I.E.L.D.’s database, it was listed as a severe sprain. However, my scans are showing a fracture. There is a severe shoulder strain to the right shoulder from what appears to be it being forced backward. There are various bruises around her body. It also appears that Miss Levina has a similarly accelerated healing rate to Miss Romanoff.”

Tony raised his eyebrows at this and I avoided his gaze by fiddling with the wrap on my wrist. 

“Alrighty then. Is there anything else we need to do Jarvis?”

“Placing Miss Levina’s wrist in a brace would speed up the healing. The wrap on her wrist isn’t tight enough to even be doing anything at the moment anyway. I would also recommend a sling for Miss Levina’s shoulder.”

I blushed slightly at this. I hadn’t wanted to say anything while my dads had been around. 

Tony went to the cabinet to grab a wrist brace for me. “So, who was it kid?” Tony asked. 

“I told you before. I fell when the quinjet came down in front of me. It’s only my clumsiness that we have to blame for this.” I replied, keeping my gaze from meeting either of theirs. 

“That was an order agent,” Romanoff said to me and I automatically stiffened.

I replied monotonously, “Strike team Alpha 3 ma’am. I was classified as unknown, hostile, possible enhanced. Samuel Orndorff was point ma’am. Is there anything else ma’am?”

“That’s all agent.” I relaxed minutely and focused on Stark. He had outstretched a hand and I placed my right wrist in his hand and allowed him to unwrap it and place the brace on. Once it was all tight, he helped me put on and adjust the sling.

“Where to next sir?” Sighing again, he responded, “Your room. It’s time to see if it’s done so you can get some rest.” 

I followed Stark and Romanoff to the elevator and we went back up a few floors. 

My room was at the very end of the hall on the left side. My dad’s room was technically across from mine, not next to it but whatever. It’s better if they didn’t hear me having nightmares anyway. 

We entered my room to see Steve and Bucky leaning against the right wall talking. Three of the walls were grey and the last was a window. I had a full-sized bed leaned against the left wall with a dark green bedspread. Next to my bed was a small table with an alarm clock on it. On the opposite end of my room was a set of drawers and a bookshelf. Last, there was a desk with a pristine laptop on it against the wall near the door. Oh, and the room was huge.

“I can’t accept this room sir. It’s too elegant.” I said to Tony. 

He kneeled down in front of me. “This room is yours to do with as you wish. This is the room I have given you. You may think it large and elegant however it will still be your room. Do with it as you wish but it’s yours, okay?”

“Yes sir.” I replied meekly. 

“Good,” Tony said as he stood and headed toward the door. “We shall leave you to rest since I know you’re tired. However, Miss Levina, I expect to see you tomorrow so don’t just hide out in here okay?” I nodded with a small smile. 

Everyone left sans my dads.

“Night Nix. Don’t be surprised if we come to check on you in a bit, ‘kay? We love you.”

“Night. Love ya.” 

They gave me a hug each, careful of my messed up arm and closed the door gently behind themselves. I sighed and plopped down on the comfy bed. 

What was I going to do now? When was I going to tell my dads the truth? How long will I have to keep the act up? Why did all of this seem so easy?


End file.
